The Jersey Journal took a tour last month of the proposed route of the controversial Spectra Energy natural gas pipeline.

As reported in today's Jersey Journal, the 15.5-mile line would begin in Staten Island, go under the Kill Van Kull into the tip of Bayonne and then return to the Kill before heading back on land via Ingham Avenue in Bayonne.

It would then mostly shadow the Bayonne portion of Route 440 and the New Jersey Turnpike Extension in Jersey City before going to Merseles Street and then 18th Street and the Hoboken border.

From there, the line would go under the Hudson River to Manhattan.

The route, which has been modified from the Houston-based company's original proposal, is mostly in industrial and vacant portions of the Hudson County landscape, but there are areas where it is closer to homes and recreational facilities.

Some of the pipeline is now envisioned to be dug using less disruptive boring machines rather than regular excavation, company officials told the Journal.

Officials in Bayonne and Jersey City told the Journal, however, that the modifications aren't enough to gain their blessings.